Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes did not play the final 10 minutes of the third period, which has led to fans and analysts worried he may be injured. The <a href='https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/kraken-6-canucks-3-quinn-hughes-cant-save-this-team' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Vancouver Canucks' 6-3 defeat at the hands of the Seattle Kraken</a> on Saturday might have been the least of their worries. Star defenseman Quinn Hughes missed the last 9:05 of the third period, which brings up more concern for his health. <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/vancouver-canucks/canucks-gm-patrik-allvin-confirms-quinn-hughes-status-for-the-4-nations-face-off' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>This after he missed the 4 Nations Face-Off with an injury</a> that was not specified. Following the game, Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said Hughes tweaked something and would be further evaluated by the team on Sunday. It's unknown when the problem arose. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/Canucks/status/1896083172745757079'> </a></blockquote></div> <a href='https://www.nhl.com/canucks/player/quinn-hughes-8480800' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Hughes</a> left the bench momentarily after Seattle's Oliver Bjorkstrand scored in the second period but returned soon after. Though he tried to fight through, Hughes was seen stretching during breaks and wasn't ultimately able to finish the game. Hughes is thought to have an oblique injury, per Sportsnet's <a href='https://x.com/FriedgeHNIC' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Elliotte Friedman</a>. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/Benton_Mike/status/1896052575654592772'> </a></blockquote></div> To balance the workload of the incumbent Norris Trophy winner, Vancouver had been dressing seven defencemen in recent games but returned to six against Seattle. <h3>Hughes missed six games beginning on Jan. 31</h3> Hughes also sat out six games beginning Jan. 31 with an unspecified injury, and Saturday was just his third game back. He has 14 goals and 46 assists in 49 games this season, which has kept the Canucks (27-22-11) in contention for the Western Conference's second wild-card position. Vancouver's next game is on Wednesday when they host the Anaheim Ducks.